Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) Entries for the upcoming annual award ceremony that recognizes excellence in traditional arts and music have declined this year, prompting a plan for review of its submission rules, the organizers said Tuesday.

Only 643 entries were received this year for the 31st Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, compared to 1,000 per year on average over the past four years, said Chen Chi-ming, director of the National Center for Traditional Arts, where the ceremony will be held on Oct. 24.

The decline was most noticeable in the music production category, which received only 481 entries this year, compared to an average of 870 annually over the past four years, Chen said.

"If you do the math, it has dropped around 45 percent (in that category)," he said.

One of the issues is that music recordings have gone digital, which means music is rarely produced on CDs or records, which are listed as one of the requirements in the entry submission rules, Chen said.

After the awards ceremony this year, therefore, NCFTA will examine the reasons behind the decline in entries and will discuss the possibility of also accepting digital entries for next year's awards, Chen said.

"I think this is the current trend," he said.

The Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, which honor individual artists, groups and works of art that have contributed to Taiwan's diverse, creative, and rich cultural heritage, have come a long way, according to the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

"We are very happy to see that the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music is now in its 31st edition," said Deputy Minister of Culture Hsiao Tsung-huang .

The nominees this year include the "Cantabile Violin & Guitar" album by Taiwanese violinist Li I-ching, who, at the age of 27 in 2004, was the youngest concertmaster in the history of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Li led the field this year with nominations in the categories of best artistic music album, best album producer, best recording, and best performance.

Meanwhile, the theater production "Portrait of Hell" by Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe has been nominated for best traditional performing arts in audiovisual production, best album producer, best group performance, best music design, and best individual newcomer performance.

This year, composer Tseng Chung-Ying and traditional arts researcher Tseng Yung-yi will receive special awards for their contribution to traditional artistic audio production and theatrical performing arts, respectively, according to the culture ministry.

In 2014, the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music was separated from the Golden Melody Awards and have since been held under the auspices of the National Center for Traditional Arts.